


RUN FLYNN

by james



Category: Tron (1982)
Genre: First Time, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2015-07-11
Packaged: 2018-04-06 12:47:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4222284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/james/pseuds/james
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Flynn knows that going back probably isn't the smart thing to do, but why should that stop him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	RUN FLYNN

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Themisto](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Themisto/gifts).



Flynn stared at the blank computer screen, refusing to look back over his shoulder at the laser. He had no idea if seeing it would make him change his mind – this was, on the face of it, a pretty insanely stupid idea. But he wasn't going to risk losing his nerve now. 

One of the good things about his new job was that he could mandate all employees leave the building by 7 p.m. on Fridays and not be allowed to return until Monday morning at eight. He'd told the board it was for employee morale, reminding everyone that family, friends, and a life outside work were important and healthy and blah blah blah. Really he'd just needed the damn building to be empty so no one would walk in and stop him.

Or worse, ask for a detailed explanation. Flynn knew how this would sound – it sounded bad, weird, and possibly clinically insane. He really didn't want to end up locked away for his own good.

He realized he was hesitating too much; soon he would chicken out altogether. He forced his hands up to the keyboard and typed. He could hear the soft whine as the laser switched on. He felt his shoulders hunch up, but didn't give in to the urge to look.

As he hit he wondered if Tron would be glad to see him.

_Too late for second-guessing, now, _he thought.__

__~~~_ _

__As before, Flynn was completely unaware of the transition – one moment he was sitting at the terminal and the next he was opening his eyes in a world he recognized. "Hot damn, it worked. It worked!" Flynn laughed and spun slowly on one heel. He was in the system. He looked down at himself and saw the same outfit as before, the blue glow reassuring. The room he was standing in wasn't the same entry point that the Master Control program had brought him to; this was just a small, empty room. But there was no mistaking the structure of it – the soft grays of everything punctuated by the glowing blue power lines that marked everything was something he'd been seeing in his dreams every night. He turned and looked around._ _

__"So, where the hell am I? I should have brought a map." Flynn had tried to memorize the structure of the computer system, but he'd quickly learned that the architecture had very little resemblance to what he remembered of how the system looked from the inside. The best he'd been able to do was aim himself at the same memory cluster where Tron was located. He had, at least, been able to send a note – a small packet that just said: GOING TO TRY TO COME VISIT, KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR ME._ _

__He hadn't received any response from Tron, but he hadn't expected one, since there was no protocol for the program to send what was essentially a social communication._ _

__Flynn felt a little stupid just thinking about it. But he was here, and it ultimately didn't matter if Tron knew he was coming or if he cared, because dear God, he was _here._ Flynn laughed again. He hadn't felt this amazing since – well._ _

__Since the last time he'd been here._ _

__Flynn gave himself a shake. "Okay, let's get this show on the road." He clapped his hands together and considered his options. There were two doors leading out of the room, each on an opposite wall. "I guess I'll just have to pick one."_ _

__There didn't seem to be any real difference, so Flynn shrugged and headed through the one on his right. The door led to a corridor which he followed to a larger, open area. Flynn could see programs walking around, some holding what looked like clipboards as they walked with apparent destinations in mind, and others standing in clusters of twos or threes, talking. The atmosphere was relaxed, though Flynn couldn't claim he'd spent much time hanging out last time to really judge the difference. But it _felt_ different, like the programs were happy and not constantly looking over their shoulders for the brute squad to drag them away._ _

__Maybe they'd even be up for giving Flynn a little help._ _

__"Well, why not," Flynn said to himself, and he walked up to a program and asked if they knew where he could find Tron._ _

__It surprised him rather more than he expected to be told exactly where Tron was. It didn't take long to find, following the program's rather detailed directions. When he stepped into the room, he saw Tron sitting at a desk, working. Behind him were displays, partly lit up with symbols and lines, some of which blinked on and off as he watched. He'd barely cleared his throat when Tron's head whipped up and the program leapt to his feet._ _

__Flynn noticed he didn't look entirely happy to see him, but that made sense as Tron said quickly, "You're here! What's wrong? I've made thorough observations of all new program activity, but I couldn't find any evidence of, whatever it is that's brought you here." He looked worried and Flynn felt suddenly guilty._ _

__"Oh, no, Jesus, I'm sorry! I just...wanted to come and say hi. See how you guys were doing." He tried to smile and shrugged, and felt like a heel. How hard would it have been to include that in his note? (And how often had Lori yelled at him when they'd been living together for not leaving notes that were actually useful?)_ _

__Tron stood still for a moment, then he blinked and Flynn could actually see his entire body – not relax, exactly. Reset. "I send status reports to my USER as requested. Are they not arriving? I have received no notifications about a lack of communication. Unless I'm not receiving them – is that why you're here?"_ _

__Flynn shook his head. Yeah, he'd really fucked this one up. The poor guy was freaked, though Flynn could only tell because he'd seen Alan acting much the same way: stoic expression, but eyes looking like they were gonna pop out of his head if anyone sneezed too hard._ _

__"Sorry, yeah, Alan's getting those just fine. But...that's all work related. I wanted to see how you guys were doing. Like...actually talk to you. See for myself."_ _

__Tron appeared to be digesting this information slowly._ _

__Flynn asked, "Is that a thing programs do? Social stuff? Where you just hang out with other programs you like and shoot the shit?"_ _

__"I do not recognize the phrase 'shoot the shit'," Tron said, and he was speaking slowly and carefully, like maybe he wasn't sure they were speaking the same language._ _

__Flynn realized, maybe they weren't._ _

__"But we do have downtime," Tron continued. "It is time when we are not actively working on whatever our individual directives are." He tilted his head to one side, but he seemed more concerned with Flynn himself, rather than the words he was saying. "We do spend downtime with other programs as we choose."_ _

__"Great!" Flynn clapped his hands together, trying to shake the feeling that Tron was not really thrilled to see him. Maybe it was just the cultural difference; it sounded to Flynn like they were speaking English, but surely programs didn't have the same sort of references that he did. "You hang out and shoot the shit. Awesome. Are you working now? Do you have some downtime?"_ _

__Tron glanced over his shoulder towards the displays, but shook his head. "I have been focusing my efforts trying to determine the source of whatever difficulty was bringing you here. There is nothing wrong," he added, and wow, was that a hint of judgment in his tone? Not that he didn't deserve it, but Flynn wondered what Alan would say if he knew his program could sound like that._ _

__He'd probably blame it on Flynn being just that annoying._ _

__Flynn ignored it and asked again, "So, you're free to hang out? Or if not, that's cool, I can just wander around and see the sights." He sort of wanted to do that anyway, but it would be nice to have Tron as a guide._ _

__There was a pause when Tron just looked at him, and Flynn couldn't figure out what the problem was. "Are you here to see Yori?" Tron asked, and his suspicious tone suddenly made a whole lot more sense._ _

__Flynn grinned at him. "I sent my note to you, didn't I?"_ _

__Tron didn't look convinced. "She told me you kissed her," he said in that same short, judgmental tone._ _

__"Yeah, well, she looks a lot like someone I used to be in love with. And she's gorgeous and she'd just saved my ass, so yeah, I kissed her." Flynn held out his arms, like, what are you gonna do._ _

__There was a strange sort of expression on Tron's face, then it smoothed away and was almost blank. "Do you expect me to take you to her?"_ _

__"Geez, you're as bad as Alan, did you know that?" Flynn stepped closer, leaning his neck out, not quite shoving his face into Tron's own. "She was never the only one I was flirting with."_ _

__Tron blinked. He'd stood his ground when Flynn had come close, but now he leaned back slightly, then took a full step backwards. Flynn laughed, but figured well, fuck it. He'd ask for a tour of the system and go home and stop trying to figure out why he couldn't stop thinking about a _computer program.__ _

__Except he knew perfectly well why, and it wasn't because Tron wore Alan's face. Sure, he'd have loved to have taken Alan for a spin, maybe get that gigantic stick out of his ass. But that was all it had been with Alan, looking for some fun with a guy who loved the same woman Flynn did. They'd have made a good, if weird, little group, but Alan hadn't even noticed Flynn's overtures and Lori had had enough of Flynn's many, many flaws and dumped him completely instead of letting them share._ _

__But Tron wasn't Alan. Sure, he had the same face, and he had many of the same characteristics. He was smart, and fearless, and definitely protective of his friends. But there was more to it and Flynn hadn't been able to put it entirely into words. Tron was a hero, sure, and Flynn knew that was reason enough to get a little distracted by the guy. But with Alan, Flynn had just wanted to fuck around a little._ _

__With Tron, he'd finally realized that he just wanted to _be_ here. Even if all they did was stand around and talk nonsense, or if Tron took him on a tour of the system and pointed out things Flynn would never understand, or – anything. He'd just wanted to see him again._ _

__Tron was looking at him. Flynn was trying not to show just how desperate he was for Tron not to turn him down, and how pathetic did he suddenly feel to realize that?_ _

__"You came here to spend your downtime with me?" Tron finally asked, and sure enough he sounded like he didn't believe a word of it._ _

__"Yeah, well, why not?" He thought about brushing it off, since it didn't look like Tron was going to be any more receptive to Flynn's advances than Alan was. But somehow he managed to say, "I missed you."_ _

__Tron looked surprised. "When you say--"_ _

__"I missed you," Flynn said, getting a little annoyed. "I wanted to see you, Tron, and see how you, Tron, were doing and how the system was getting along after you saved it from Master Control and just--" Flynn threw up his hands and rocked backwards on his feet, ready to storm out. "So I took the fucking weekend off and I digitized myself and came down here to find you."_ _

__"You wanted to spend your downtime with me?" he repeated, sounding no more convinced that the first time._ _

__"Is that so hard to believe?"_ _

__"Perhaps," Tron began, and Flynn was ready to cut his losses and go, but he suddenly saw Tron's eyes. He was smiling at him. "I believe I have some downtime right now," Tron continued and his tone made Flynn laugh._ _

__He sounded smug._ _

__Well, fuck it, Flynn thought, because apparently as badly as he'd managed to handle this up until now, he might as well go for broke. He stepped forward again, right into Tron's personal space, and tilted his head._ _

__Before he had a chance to move in, Tron kissed him._ _


End file.
